catastrophe

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Informal

n. a complete failure or a very bad situation.

n. a total failure or a situation that has gone completely wrong, often used with slight hyperbole.

“The dinner party was a catastrophe because the oven stopped working.”

“The opening night of the play was a catastrophe, as several actors forgot their lines and the scenery fell over.”

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Theater Academic · Formal

n. the final part of a play or story where everything is resolved, often sadly.

n. the final event or denouement of a dramatic work, particularly in classical tragedy, which completes the unfolding of the plot.

“In the final act, the hero's secret is revealed, leading to the catastrophe.”

“The playwright carefully constructed the rising action to ensure that the eventual catastrophe felt both inevitable and emotionally devastating.”

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Mathematics Technical

n. a sudden change where a system moves from one state to another.

n. a sudden shift in the behaviour of a system resulting from small changes in its circumstances.

“The bridge collapsed because of a mathematical catastrophe in the structure.”

“Catastrophe theory provides a framework for modelling how continuous changes in input parameters can lead to abrupt, discontinuous changes in a system's state.”